by Lauren Dawes
He grinned. ‘What are we playing for?’
‘Privacy for the next time you bring some human female around mine to jerk you off.’ Rhett’s smile wavered. He hadn’t brought a human female back to B’s place in town for six months, not since he’d met Indi.
‘Deal.’ Rhett picked up the other controller, punching himself into the game. He was kicking Brax’s ass too until Eaton came to the door.
‘It’s time, Rhett,’ she whispered. Her nose was running, her eyes red-rimmed and raw from crying. Despite Eaton’s elevation in the pack, Rhett met the eyes of his aunt and held them. ‘I hope the pack is grateful for the sacrifice you’re about to make,’ she breathed.
‘They’re not ever going to find out about it. They can’t.’
Eaton stepped away from him, holding his gaze with confusion unhidden on her face. ‘But why? You saved the pack.’
‘They won’t see it that way. They’ll be hoping that Sabel kills me tonight then they’ll be able to wash their hands of me completely.’
Eaton’s cheeks washed with a fresh set of tears; Rhett pulling her to his chest and squeezing her gently. With his cheek on her head, he said, ‘I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.’
He stalked out of his room and marched down the stairs; the fire in his belly building. As soon as he hit the landing, he could feel the nervous tension the pack was giving off in the living room. He would be leaking a lot of fluids by the time this whole thing was done. Guaranteed. He paused just on the other side of the door jamb, gathering his thoughts before pushing through the door.
Every seat in the living room was taken, only leaving standing room behind the over-stuffed sofas. Although there were only fifteen members of the pack, by law every member of the pack had to be present for the verdict and punishment. It served two purposes really: the first to scare other wolves out of breaking the rules and the second to ensure that the proper punishment was meted out.
Bodies moved out of his way as he walked further and further into the living room. His wolf responded to them, pushing against his skin, making him hyperaware of every single wolf in the room. Many were lost in the bloodlust of their wolves already. He looked up into the eyes of the wolves below him in rank, meeting their gazes and asserting his dominance over them. Yeah, he may have been getting a beating right then, but he was still stronger, faster and more lethal than them.
Antain sat in his beaten-to-shit armchair in front of the hearth. Behind him, on his right, was Vaile. On his left was Sabel—whose eyes were burning with the colour of his wolf. Rhett knew that his own eyes would be emerald and ice. Sabel’s lip pulled away from his teeth, a low rumbling growl vibrating through his chest. Vaile glanced at him; a second later the pulse of his power running over the room, making Rhett feel like he was drowning slowly. Sabel ignored the threat from Vaile. It wasn’t until Antain unleashed his power over the pack did his skin feel like it was being pierced by a thousand needles while being drowned at the same time. The wolves at Rhett’s back began whimpering under the tidal surge of energy that flowed from their alpha and beta. They were unmoving rocks around the flow.
When Sabel’s lip came back down again, Antain turned his attention back to Rhett. ‘Rhett, do you come before the pack of your own free will, admitting your guilt for the crime you have committed?’
He cleared his throat before speaking. ‘I do.’
Antain dipped his head shallowly, showing him respect for his honesty. ‘Rhett, you have been charged with the crime of sharing your blood with a vampire. How do you plead?’
‘Guilty,’ he said in a strong voice. Around him, the members of the pack gasped. There was only one thing worse than giving blood and that was killing a pack mate without just cause. Rhett could feel their stares boring into the back of his skull. His lethal gaze swung around, tempting any one of the young males who wanted his spot to make an attempt now. He would take them all down. A growl trickled out from between his bared teeth, waiting for them to make their move. He coughed a laugh when none of them had the balls to do it. When Antain cleared his throat, Rhett’s gaze fixed back onto him before dropping submissively to the ground.
‘Rhett, for sharing your blood with a vampire, you will receive twenty lashes as punishment. What say you?’
Only twenty? ‘I accept your ruling, Alpha.’
‘Good,’ he replied. He looked to Sabel and nodded. With a snarl in his throat, Sabel came towards him with a pair of manacles that had been strengthened and imbued with magic to contain a werewolf. Normally, they’d only use them on rogue or enemy wolves, but Rhett was getting the pleasure that night. Sabel kicked behind Rhett’s leg, forcing him to his knees, visually lowering his status in front of the pack. Rhett didn’t fight. He didn’t even fight when Sabel wrenched his arms behind his back, applying more pressure than he needed to. He was looking into the eyes of Eaton who had come to stand next to her mate. She was sobbing silently, leaning against Antain for support. She and his uncle never had the chance to have children. No félvair had come along in time, and Eaton became too old to bear children. For them, he was their son.
‘Stop!’ croaked a voice. Rhett sighed, realising who the voice had belonged to. Brax pushed through the crowd and crouched down in front of him. ‘Let me take the punishment,’ he begged. ‘Please. I will take it for you.’ Brax’s grey eyes were shifting colours too quickly.
‘No. I take the punishment. I knew what would happen. I accept the consequences of my actions,’ he replied softly even though every person in there could hear them.
Brax’s eyes finally settled on yellow. ‘Sabel will kill you,’ he replied seriously. Rhett looked at the wolf in question from the corner of his eye, seeing his intent in his bright green gaze.
‘He wants to, but he’s only able to dole out twenty lashes. That won’t kill me.’
Rhett was hauled up by the arm and pushed towards the front door. The punishment would take place in a specially designed room in the barn. The floors were concrete, making it easier to clean up the blood that regularly got spilled there either by the pack or enemies of the pack. Brax stood at his side the entire time, Antain and Vaile trailing behind. The rest of the pack filed out after them; the murmurs and softly crunching steps on the light covering of snow the only sounds they made.
Crusts of ice broke under their feet as they marched towards the barn that had finally come into view. Rhett fell to his knees suddenly, the bottom of his pants soaking through with melted snow; Sabel’s cruel smile twisting up his lips because he’d been responsible for the fall. Before Rhett could say anything, Brax slid his hands under his arms and pulled him up again.
When they finally pushed into the huge barn, the scent of blood and death was in the air. It was cold—stinging his lungs and nostrils—but at least there was no snow in there. Rhett hated the snow. Sabel forced him to his knees again as a squeak told him that everyone had filed in and the door had been shut. They were quiet as Sabel stalked over the wall where the whips and other implements of torture were being held. His chartreuse glare pinned Rhett as he ran his hand over the different whips, finally settling on the worst of them. With a wicked grin on his lips, he picked up the Cat and ran the nine ends over his palm. This Cat had been modified to be especially painful to werewolves; the tails were embedded with silver-dipped pieces of steel. The silver made sure that healing afterwards would take nearly double the time it normally took. And the steel? Well that was just to make flagellation that little bit more painful.
Sabel started stalking back over to where Rhett was crouched, his steps faltering when Antain’s voice filled the space of the barn effortlessly. ‘Twenty. Only.’ Sabel’s head whipped around to his alpha.
‘Of course,’ he simpered, coiling the whip and moving towards Rhett again. The crank of a chain sounded and a moment later, the manacles from Rhett’s wrists were being removed and replaced by two steel cuffs that hung from the ceiling. Before they were clipped in place, he was spun around to face the wit
nesses, but to his surprise, only Vaile, Antain and Brax were standing in the barn. He looked at his uncle in question.
‘They don’t need to see this. What you did was for the good of the pack, but rules are rules. We will witness this,’ he gestured to Vaile and Brax, ‘and my word will be enough to confirm you received your punishment.’ His eyes went to Brax who was standing near the wall and the crank for the pulley system attached to the roof. ‘Raise him,’ Antain said softly.
Rhett’s arms began lifting, pulling his body up with them. The sound of the rattling chains finally made his heart pound against his ribs, spelling out SOS in Morse code. When he was standing on his toes, the chain stopped. Brax walked unsteadily over to him again and unbuttoned Rhett’s shirt and lifted it up and over his head; exposing his bare back to the Cat and Sabel. Out of compassion, Brax slipped his leather belt into Rhett’s mouth so he wouldn’t scream out loud.
The whispered hush of the whip being unfurled filled the air, making Brax take a step back from him. The first blow came without warning, but Sabel counted out the first strike with satisfaction in his voice afterwards. Rhett bit down on the leather in his mouth, groaning around the pain he felt on his back. The Cat’s tails didn’t just bite into his skin, but dragged chunks of his flesh out as it left.
The second strike still hurt like a mother fucker, but at least Rhett knew what to expect. He remained mute for that one, much to Sabel’s disgust. Warm blood began seeping into the top of his cargo pants, dripping from his skin like water and he began to wonder how long he would remain conscious. The human body could only stand so much pain before it shut down, but a lycanthrope’s could stand so much more.
The third strike hit in the same place as the first, tearing more flesh and muscle from his body. His vision became fuzzy around the corners, the smell of his blood making his wolf uneasy beneath his skin. Sweat ran into his eyes as the muscles in his neck tensed into thick cords waiting for the next blow.
The whip whispered through the air once more. The sting of its tongues on his bare, bloody back wasn’t as bad as it had been before which meant that Rhett was going into shock. Right on cue, his whole body began to shake and his head began spinning. The black vortex of delirium was setting in because when he lifted his head, he could have sworn that he saw Indi standing in front of him mouthing the words “Find me.”
*
Rhett woke up on his belly with the taste of blood in his mouth. Every inch of his skin was hurting; his muscles and joints screaming out in pain every time he moved a fraction. With a groan, he tried to lift his head, giving up after a fresh wash of agony sluiced his body.
‘Don’t move you stupid bastard,’ a familiar voice said. Against his better judgement, Rhett turned his head towards Brax, finding his face ashen.
Rhett’s mouth was dry when he tried to talk. Brax produced a bottle of Gatorade with a straw sticking out of it. He took a sip and tried again. ‘B, I’m the one who got his ass handed to him. Why do you look so sick?’
Brax looked away for a moment before he gave Rhett a serious look. ‘I was worried about you.’
‘You don’t need to worry about me. How long have I been out?’
‘About an hour.’
He growled. ‘No wonder I feel like a goddamned pin cushion still. When did I pass out?’
‘You almost made it the whole twenty. I’ve never seen anyone last that long before.’
Rhett shook his head. He couldn’t remember a damn thing after the fifth blow. Hell, he thought he’d seen Indi in there with him. Brax brought the bottle to his mouth again and positioned the straw near his mouth. After he swallowed he said, ‘I need to get out of here. I need to go to Indi.’
‘I don’t think that’s such a great idea Rhett.’
‘And why not?’
‘Have you seen your back? You’ve barely got any skin left on there.’
‘I’ll heal when I shift.’
‘You know we can’t shift when we’re in too much pain. It won’t work.’
Rhett growled, low and steady. ‘I’ll make it work. I have to get back to Indi.’ There was something about seeing her when he was delirious with pain that resonated in him. “Find me,” she’d mouthed.
‘What’s the rush? You’re not going to be any good to her writhing in agony on the ground.’
‘Just help me get off the bed and onto the floor.’
‘Not until you tell me the real reason you’ve got such a hard on to get back to her,’ Brax demanded.
‘B, I don’t have time for this,’ Rhett hissed. ‘Either help me or get the fuck out of here!’
Brax eventually did what he was told, carefully manoeuvring Rhett’s body to the side of the mattress. ‘I can’t get you down without hurting you more.’
‘Hurt me more then,’ Rhett bit out. The pain had to be worth it if Indi was still alive. He’d take the punishment again if he had to. Brax gave him one last shove and Rhett was getting some intimate time with the floor. Pain erupted from his back, blistering his entire body with red-hot fire. He couldn’t stop the scream.
Brax asked, ‘What now?’
‘I’m going to force The Change then shift back again to heal the damage.’
‘You’ll have to do it more than once to fully heal. You do know that right? I think I can see bone peeking through back there.’
Rhett ground his teeth together; partly because of the pain, and partly because of the pain Brax was causing him. ‘Fine. Go get me something to eat between shifts.’
Brax left Rhett alone, closing the door softly behind him. With him gone, he could focus on flooding his body with calm. He needed to get into the right head space for this to happen. He emptied his mind and even though his every instinct was fighting him, he called The Change to him. It was only a faint feather’s caress over his body and it wasn’t enough. He gritted his teeth and tried again, this time getting the sensation of hot liquid being poured over his naked body. His bones began breaking and resetting. His muscles tore and knit back together again, his ligaments repositioning themselves to make his lupine body fit together.
The heat burned through his body until he was sweating and panting and writhing on the floor. Rhett looked at his hands. His fingers were shrinking, his nails becoming giant, obsidian claws. His hip bone exploded; shattering into a thousand pieced before coming back together to fit a wolf’s body. His jaw ached, lengthening to accommodate the sharp incisors that he’d used to tear apart his enemies.
Pain rocked his body until every new bone and muscle was in its place, until his fur began to grow. The follicles pushed their way through his raw, open skin; covering his entire body in hair the same colour as the dark hair on his head. He screamed again, but this time it was the howl of a wolf that came through his new vocal cords.
He lay there panting for a long time, his body still shivering from the new form. At least his back wasn’t on fire anymore. There was a gentle knock on the door, and Rhett’s enhanced sense of smell told him it was Brax, and he had meat with him. He whined and the door opened slowly. A surprised werewolf was not a happy werewolf. Brax slid into the room carrying a plate.
‘I got you hamburger meat. I think it’s supposed to be for dinner though,’ he shrugged and placed the plate on the ground. Rhett devoured the whole thing.
Two more less painful changes later, Rhett had fully healed himself, although he was weak with hunger from the rapid shifts. It was always dangerous shifting more than once, maybe twice, within an hour. The risk of having organ failure nearly doubled, but it was a risk he’d had to take.
When he could walk again, Rhett made his way to the shower before throwing on some clean clothes and grabbing his car keys.
‘Are you leaving now?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Good luck brother,’ he replied, offering Rhett his hand. They clapped palms and embraced for a second.
‘Thanks B. I’ll see you later.’ Just as he was about to shut his door behind him, Brax’s voic
e trailed after him.
‘You didn’t fail her you know.’
Rhett stopped and turned back to his best friend. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Indi. You didn’t fail her.’
Rhett stared into Brax’s constantly slipping eyes and wondered why he hadn’t seen this side to Brax before. He was the class clown, the joker—but this side of him was new. He was serious and smart and intuitive. He wanted to tell him that he was right, but couldn’t. As far as he was concerned, he had failed Indi and the guilt from his mistake was like ice in his chest. But he didn’t. He turned and walked down the hallway, waiting to hear Brax fire up the Xbox again.
He jogged down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Bursting through the front door, he unlocked his car and slid into the driver’s seat. As he sped down the gravel drive, the guilt began freezing the blood in his veins again. Yeah, he had failed Indi once and he’d be damned if he let it happen again.
Chapter 30
Nox prowled the streets of Buxton, his shitkickers pounding against the pavement as he searched for the half blood. It was colder than it had been the last time he was here, not that it mattered too much. He was as cold-blooded as a snake right now. He hadn’t been able to return to his brothers to feed properly, and it would have to wait. He had to finish the job this time.
He’d been irresponsible and a fool for believing that just draining her of blood would have been enough; that she would have died like a human. After all, she was still human. But when he was interrupted by the wolves, he had no choice but to abandon his kill. His life was more important than risking it for the death of a half breed.
